MINSTER – An already huge night raising money for Hospice got even bigger on Friday night for Minster in their state ranked battle, as James Niemeyer hurled a complete game no-hitter in a 2-1 non-league win over visiting Fort Loramie.
Niemeyer, a 6’2 junior utilized his fastball and array of offspeed hitters to keep the Redskins off balance while accruing nine strikeouts.
Minster kicked off the scoring in the bottom of the second frame thanks to a lead-off double from Louis Magoto and an RBI single that dropped in the outfield off the bat of Rylan Edwards to push ahead 1-0.
Unfortunately for the Wildcats their time with the early lead would be short lived thanks to an error at first, a walk to opposing pitcher Gabe Hart, and a sacrifice fly from leadoff hitter Mavrick Grudich in the top of the following frame.
Showing he can produce at the plate as well as in front of it, Niemeyer raced a triple through the outfield following a single by teammate Tyler Stueve in the bottom of the third to push his squad into a lead they would not relinquish.
Fort Loramie, ranked #5 in the Division IV weekly coaches polls this week found themselves with just a trio of base runners for the rest of the evening. Grudich and teammate Roger Hoying were both hit by a pitch in the fifth with two outs but were unable to threaten pass second base as a flyout to left ended the opportunity to break even.
Rylan Edwards, the last chance for Fort Loramie to avoid being no hit in the game slashed a quickly dropping liner to center but was robbed of a base hit as Wildcat outfielder Connor Schmiesing raced in to secure the catch and protect the celebration to follow.
Minster entered the evening ranked #8 in the same Division IV polls tallied a pair of hits over their final three at bats, singles by Alex Schmitmeyer, and Dylan Heitkamp en route to snapping a four-game skid against the Redskins.
Gabe Hart dropped to 2-2 on the season with the loss for Fort Loramie (19-5). Hart surrendered two runs on seven hits while striking out six and walking one over five innings of work.
Minster picked up their 19th win of the year as Niemeyer moved his personal mark to 4-0 in a complete game effort allowing no hits and just one run on three walks and a pair of hit by pitches to go along with his nine strikeouts.
Fort Loramie will make up a rained out SCAL contest to finish up their regular season before a tournament opener with Jackson Center or Springfield CC. Next up for the Wildcats is a trip to Greenville on Saturday and a home non-league tilt on Monday against Wayne Trace before their own sectional final against either Perry or New Knoxville.
Minster hurler James Niemeyer finishes off a complete game #NoHitter for @MinsterAthletic #BehindTheMike pic.twitter.com/XrPkAMi2Rc
— Michael Hirn (@MichaelHirnPBP) May 11, 2024
BOX SCORE:
FL 0-0-1-0-0-0-0 1-0-0
M 0-1-1-0-0-0-x 2-7-1